The Elevated Design Is an Advantage of the Transrapid
Maglev systems, including the Transrapid, are often criticized for having to be built on elevated guideways. This overlooks the fact that the elevated design offers enormous advantages and is not a technical requirement - ground-level construction has been tested as well. In fact, more than half of the planned Transrapid line from Hamburg to Berlin would have run at ground level.
Maglev systems, including the Transrapid, are often criticized for having to be built on elevated guideways. This overlooks the fact that the elevated design offers enormous advantages and is not a technical requirement – ground-level construction has been tested as well. In fact, more than half of the planned Transrapid line from Hamburg to Berlin would have run at ground level.
In Emsland (northwestern Germany), the predominantly elevated design was chosen in order to cut up the landscape as little as possible. Farmers can still work their agricultural land. There are no level crossings – existing roads could simply be spanned. And the infrastructure could even be built in forest without impeding wildlife crossings.
This gives the Transrapid a major advantage over the ICE (Deutsche Bahn’s high-speed train): it can be routed flexibly. While new ICE lines are planned under strict alignment requirements (distances, no level crossings, …), the Transrapid can be built flexibly over existing infrastructure (roads, rivers, rail lines). Mountainous areas are also easier to build on with the Transrapid: while ICEs can only handle gradients of up to 4%, the Transrapid can climb up to 10%. This reduces the need for tunnels, leading to enormous cost savings.
No other guided long-distance transport system can be integrated into nature as well as the Transrapid. The test track in Emsland has proven exactly this: here a high-speed infrastructure is so well integrated into the landscape that it does not even cut through a forest.
… and if the elevated design is nevertheless undesirable, the Transrapid can just as well be built at ground level – and even then it needs less land than a new ICE line.
The Transrapid has many other advantages that can significantly improve long-distance travel in Germany. Feel free to watch the talk “Everything About the Transrapid” (in German) free of charge on YouTube – there you can learn more about the exact benefits, advantages, technology and history of this high technology.
